Our Detours, God's Redemption

Genesis 33.1-20

Be careful not to take just part of this message. The whole thing must be grasped or it could be used as an excuse to sin. That would be horrible!

The danger of teaching on God's Grace and God's Sovereignty always carries with it the possibility of some using it as a license for willful disobedience or a lackadaisical attitude toward eternity.

Properly understood a balance will appear. Perhaps out of fear as well as a lack of a grasp of it, the church in certain areas did not talk about these subjects in the past. We sang about it when I was growing up but we didn't go much further than that. There was a lot of condemnation but a scarcity of expounding on the glorious riches we have in Christ- few enjoyed what they had. Thankfully God brought people to me who did.

There are several themes of Grace in chapter 33. The first three words contain it. Jacob had been through some deep struggles. Now he is looking up.

Verse Four is sublime reconciliation. Does there need to be a Jacob-Esau meeting with a member of your family? IS there a brother or sister you are estranged from? Go out there and meet them.

Jacob was on his journey back to where God wanted him, back to the House of God (Bethel).

1. Jacob should have gone directly to Bethel. 35.1
*Where he first met the LORD. 28.10-21
If you have been wandering, get back to the House of God
Get back to where you first met the LORD.
*Where God identified Himself by that place. 31.13
*Where it was safe- Bethel- The House of God, the family of God
The Church- The Safest Place on Earth
Larry Crabb writes in his book by that title, "A few people, I among them, are coming to believe (and a fair amount of psychological research is pointing in the direction we are heading) that someone who relates well (Mature Christians) is more capable of promoting meaningful change than a trained professional who does "therapy" to a patient as a set of clinical techniques based in well thought out theories of pathology, diagnosis and treatment."

Jacob settled within sight of Shechem.-v.18
Called by God Whom he first met Bethel, he detours from a path there and settles in Shechem.

2. Shechem, although a far cry from Sodom, had some similarities.
It was fruitful and had water sources to sustain all of Jacob's flocks
Jacob dug a well there. John 4.1-6, 12 It took care of Israel, his sons their families and his flocks and his herds. It is some well- still there today 4,000 years later.

Like his Uncle Lot (Genesis 13.12, 33.18) Jacob pitched his tent near the city. Where are you pitching your tent these days? Are you near some things that could hurt you spiritually? Are there people you have close relationships with that you know pull you down in your walk with the LORD?

Godless (c.34) God's Name is not mentioned at all in the whole chapter!- not many chapters in His Word like that. Look at Genesis 49.5-7

Steer clear of close relationships with godless people- where His Name is never mentioned... trouble brews in places like that as Jacob found out.

Stay away from those places that look good and may even contain temporal material and physical blessing but lack the recognition of the LORD.

3. Jesus met the Samaritan Woman at the well Jacob dug. John 4
She had five husbands. - a mess of her life. 6 men John 4.16-18
She was physically thirsty so went to Jacob's well. She did not know she was about to meet God!

God used Jacob's detour (and his son's disaster) to save a whole town!- 1,900 years later, but also for this woman (who remains nameless) to come to meet the Messiah and believe on Him. God is sovereign. He is in control. He can redeem disasters as well as detours.

*Ask forgiveness for your blunders but don't beat yourself up over and over again. He was pierced for our transgressions. Isaiah 53.5
Change direction- move away from the things or people of necessary who are dragging you down.
*Repent! Jacob did.

There is hope. Sometimes the enemy can get us to think it is hopeless. Sometimes we believe it is We must remember he is a liar and the father of lies. When we are losing hope, the LORD comes to us. God shows up.

A few years back Alice gave a gift to the nursery school staff, a disposable camera and a small album entitled "Summer 2004". Lucy and I and our nephews, Mike and Steve and our niece Marlee were at golf course at Robert Moses. We took the camera. Marlee was our caddy (for which we gave her a nice tip) and at one point we took a group shot- If it were a MasterCard commercial it would have gone, "Parking at Robert Moses- $10, round of golf for a 4some- $44, a picture of the group- priceless. When we got back home and unloaded the backpack we could not find the camera anywhere. We looked in the car. We called Robert Moses, We filled out a form at the Lost and Found. We asked every time we went over there if they had found a small disposable camera. After a year we gave up. Then the other night we were heading over with Patrick and Inna. Lucy reached in her bag to get her golf glove and she felt something. She reached down and pulled out the camera! What we thought we lost we had all the time! God's surprises!

Watch Him work in your life today!

The God of My Father

Genesis 31.1-13

Jacob's journey to Haran and back chronicled in Genesis also coincided with his spiritual development. He had some encounters with the LORD. God spoke to him in dreams. Yet the LORD had not become His God at this point. He believed but He had not yet surrendered his will to the LORD.

In verse five he speaks of the LORD as "the God of my father." His relationship with the LORD at this point was largely through his father, Isaac.

God has no grandchildren- only children. You must be born again.
God is not a grandfather. He is a father- Our Father in Heaven.
In the book, The Problem With Pain, C.S. Lewis writes that we would like to think of God as a Grandfather and most people do, but He is a Father, the Father.

Fathers set boundaries, have rules that if broken have consequences. Being a father is 24-7... working to support his family. Fathers are with us, legally responsible for us.

Grandfathers hand out candy and buy ice cream. They have fun with their grandkids and if they are being trained correctly at home seldom if ever have to do anything with discipline with their grandkids. They don't require much. Father's do and that is the way it ought to be.

Jacob looked at the LORD as the God of his father because
1.Jacob had no yet arrived at a place of full surrender. vs.1-5
He was still grasping heels. He was still trying hard to run the show and outwit his relatives who were over him.

The LORD was the God of his father. The major reason he is down there in Haran is because He stole his brother Esau's birthright. He had not yet surrendered.

God will not force us to bow to Him- that day is coming where every knee will bow but it is not yet here. In this present time God calls but we must respond.

Jacob was running out of options, tricks up his sleeve. He is coming to the end of himself. It was distressful for Jacob but God was working out his plan in this man.

2. The God of My Father is My God. 32.24-26

Abram's name was changed to Abraham.
Jacob's name to Israel at Peniel- the Face of God.
The God of my father becomes my God when I surrender to Him.
He changes my nature. He writes my name down in heaven I am born again.

I remember when the God of my father became my God. It was November 22, 1963. The earth was shaken that day. President Kennedy/ C.S. Lewis. In the life of this guy my heart was turned toward heaven. I knelt and asked Christ Jesus to become my Savior.

My father, my dad, has had (and still does) an enormous influence on me. He is a one woman man, sincere, a man of integrity, seeking first God's kingdom. He has a hatred of sin. Much of what I learned about the LORD in my formative years came from my dad. Although he was my Sunday School teacher for a number of years when I was a teen, it was more from being with him that had the greater influence. I worked with him on his WISE Potato Chip Route in Brooklyn. I watched him pray over our deli sandwiches for lunch in the truck. I saw storekeepers just sign bills instead of checking him in (they knew he was honest). I saw him get upset but I never heard my dad use the LORD's Name in vain. I went to him for his last day of work on his 65th birthday, 18 years ago, January 14, 1992.

The God of my father has become my God, my grandfather and my great grandfather's God as well.

3. Will You God Become Your Children's God? III John 4
He ought to. I'm in church this morning- but that is not enough. It has to be lived out the other 167 days in the week.
Pass the torch: Parents, grandparents, Aunts, Uncles- Lee Milligan- 96 years old Friday went home to be with the LORD.

Jacob saw his father's faith and his grandfather's (He was 15 years old when Abraham died). I am sure he heard his story, the history of this family- Grandpa Mancini- Nana- give your kids a godly heritage!

The LORD became known as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Father of many nations, Laughter, and the Heal Grasper who became Governed by God

Being A Source of Blessings

Genesis 30.25-27

Laban, Jacob's uncle, was not someone you would want to do business with. He always had something up his sleeve. He was controlling and manipulative, even or we could say especially with member of his own family. If you have or have had someone like that in your family you know firsthand how difficult it can be.

Laban did not need to use divination to reach the conclusion, "The LORD has blessed me because of you." (v.27) It didn't take a CPA to figure that out. Stay away from fortune tellers, Tarot Card readers, horoscopes and the like. When it comes to decisions and the future, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart..." Seek first His Kingdom. Look to God's Word. His Spirit will guide you. Jesus never fails.

Laban was materially blessed because of Jacob. God was fulfilling His Promise of 28.13-14 to Jacob.

All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.-v.14

The LORD is faithful to all His Promises.

The Jewish people make up 1/2 percent of the world's population but their contributions have been astounding to say the least. The ultimate blessing is Jesus Christ. He is a descendant of Jacob. Salvation is through Jesus Christ and none other. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Nothing/ no one can compare to Him.

However a secondary meaning/fulfillment to this promise of God here is the contribution of the Jews, Jacob's descendants, his offspring, to the human race. In areas of science, literature, music, medicine, finance and many others the Jews have blessed the world.

Let's look at medicine alone:

A Jew:

*created the first polio vaccine

*discovered insulin

*discovered aspirin relieves pain

*discovered chloral hydrate for treating convulsions

*discovered streptomycin

*identified the first cancer virus

just to mention a few

In other areas:

Albert Einstein- Physics

Galileo- discovered the speed of light

Isaac Singer- invented the sewing machine

Levi Strauss the largest manufacturer of blue jeans in the world

Back to Laban's statement: The LORD has blessed me because of you

Jacob's wisdom, which he received from the LORD, enabled him to make money by being successful in raising livestock. God blesses us materially. As long as we keep ourselves free from the love of money and the things it can buy and we are thankful to our Father in Heaven Who gave them to us and ask, "How can I use them for God's glory?", we are safe with the good things.

The LORD has blessed me because of you- from God and for God's glory

Jacob was a source (servant) of blessings to Uncle Laban, materially. How we can we be a source of blessing in all ways to others for thew glory of Our Father In Heaven?

1. Pray For Others James 5.16

pray for each other so that you may be healed

Keep a list, as we do in the bulletin-program each week

Pray privately - in your prayer closet

Pray personally with them- Ken Morrison 32 year old nephew died this week after a 2 year battle with brain cancer.

Pray publicly- Something wonderful happens when I hear my name and my family brought before God's throne by you my people.

2. Encourage Others Hebrews 10.25

lit. "spur each other on" A kind kick

This is cooperating with the Holy Spirit. Part of His ministry is encouragement.

Encouragement is not talking about yourself. It is the godly entering into someone else's' world and blessing them with words that affirm what they are doing for Jesus, or who they are in Him. You guys are good at it with me! Do unto others!

Be a blessing to others by praying for them, and encouraging them... and

3. Listen to Others Psalm 5.1-2

This is an area of godliness we all need to grow in.

Encouragement is words. Listening is silence. Shut your mouth and open your ears and heart. Don't think about what you are going to say. Listen to what they are saying.

I am growing in appreciation these days for the times the LORD shuts my mouth.

4. Giving To Others Philemon 7

I know some people with lots of money with this gift but I know a lot people with little money that have it! My grandmother was one of those. Many of you are like her. It is a spiritual grace. It is unseen. It requires sensitivity and discernment. Properly done it can do much for the receiver and even more for the giver!

When you think of all these things they are all what God is doing for us- do to others this week- on your journey- pray Make Me A Blessing.

Jacob's Vow

Genesis 28.20-22

We see the Grace of God in Jacob's life. His brother Esau wanted to kill him (and not without reasons) and God, as he is fleeing, is blessing him.

The LORD gave Jacob a dream on the first night of his journey. That must have been a lonely night fr Jacob. He, unlike Esau, stayed among the tents (Genesis 25.27). He was a homebody, a quiet man- so on this first night under the stars, out there with the sounds of the night, he must have felt a little homesick.

The LORD meets us in our times of loneliness. In fact Psalm 68.6 "God sets the lonely in families..." Psalm 27.10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me." Jacob was away from his parents but he was not away from the LORD. I love those verses in Psalm 139.1-12. We are never far away, or ever away from the LORD if we belong to Him. In fact the first thing God promised reflected in the vow Jacob made was:

1. The Promise of the Presence of God. v.20a

*David declared it- at life's most difficult time Psalm 23.4
*Jesus promised it to all who follow Him Matthew 28
*Paul testified about it when going through hard trials II Timothy 4.16-17
The LORD is with us even when we are wondering, "Where are You, LORD?"
Psalm 10.1

Not only did God promise His Presence but Jacob had

2. The Promise of the Provisions of God. -v.20b

George Muller set out to prove that there is reality in the promises of God and he ended up taking care of 10,000 orphans in Bristol, England while pastoring a church and supporting young missionaries like Hudson Taylor.

God's promises include food to eat and clothes to wear. Jesus promised this in Matthew 6. Paul wrote to Timothy and said that if we have food and clothing we should be content I Timothy 6.8
Homes, business, investments
God promises the basics... Jacob did become very wealthy.

The final thing in this vow of Jacob reflecting God's Word in the dream was

3. The Promise of a Return To His Father's House. vs.21-22

The Promise was made to Jacob, Jesus too. They received it.

The prodigal son and you and I have a share in this promise.
God brought Jacob back to the Promised Land.
Jesus went back to the Father's House in heaven- John 14
He promised to come again- come back and take us there.
Jacob set up a Memorial Stone- a pillar- he worshipped.

A Tenth-
Giving- reciprocate
Giving back- from where the blessings came from (Community, School)
Giving back to God- where every good and perfect gift comes from
to see His kingdom come
because of His love and care of us.

He is with you.

He will take care of your needs

He will come back and take you to be with Him- in His Father's House.